Day 3 – The Worm by a nose

It’s been a quiet day out on the campaign trail with a midday start after all the appropriate dignitaries and politicians attended the military funeral of Digger David Pearce.

There was much outrage against Howard wanting the election debate televised without The Worm. The only reason people watch the traditional TV debate is to see the worm squirm as an audience of swinging voters spontaneously signal their approval/disapproval by means of a handheld control pad. It’s riveting viewing, more like a footy match while the pollies utter their carefully crafted spin. It should be written into the constitution that all politial debates must have The Worm. It’s as Australian as betting on two flies crawling up a bar-room wall. Rudd is yet to confirm the debate while the respective campaign bunker staff negotiate details behind the scenes.

Rudd appeared in a Queensland hospital where his mother trained as a nurse and announced funding for another 9,000 nurses as well as $2 million for The War on Cane Toads. Howard pointed out that it was Board Managed Hospital in accordance with his new Health Plan.

Costello secured the vital anti-communist vote by telling us that the student organisation Julia Gillard belonged to was only one step removed from communism. Team Howard spent the day reminding us that an ALP government will be run by The Unions. No-one is meantioning that 64% of Team Howard’s Front Bench are <em>lawyers</em>. To borrow from Woody Guthrie a tatooed trade-union thug will beat you about the head with a length of 4×2 for $20 a week, but it takes a lawyer with a fountain pen to strip away rights and conditions and foreclose your defaulted mortgage. Team Howard are simply reminding those most adversely affected by AWAs that Unions represent a fare working wage and conditions for a fair day’s pay. In omenous signs for any anticpated poll bounce for Team Howard, 46 out 56 talkback calls monitored by Rehame were scathing of Team Howard’s Grand Tax Plan for the Future of Australia. 68% of electors would prefer the money be spent on health, education and public infrastructure. And the poor old pensioners again get nothing, although I guess they’ll throw them a few dollars for some extra cat food by camapaign’s end.

The battle for moral superiority focused on Ben Cousins and his drug problems, with all good moral people calling a more stringent 3 strikes and you’re out regime. Hats off to Harry Clarke for rightly observing that if Ben has breached the law, then deal with him accordingly – his career is a seperate issue and should be dealt with supportively and separately, just as happens with every other profession.

I’m thinking The Worm really won the day for capturing everyone’s attention. Team Howard warned us about Union Bogey Men and Communists, leaving Kevin07 as the only one who had anything new to say. My voting system is binary only, so Day 3 belongs to Kevin07.